Wednesday, December 01, 2010

It's only December 1, but I'm in a Santa-rrific mood, so this month I'll be giving away lots of stuff. Next week I'll do a fundraiser for Heifer International, where you can take home something from St. Nick's Bag O' Book Goodies (signed ARCs and books, cover flats, swag). The following week I'll be doing a Shade-related giveaway for the Winter Solstice (and Aura and Zachary's birthday).

But this week... it's zombies.

Unless you've been living under a rotting carcass, you probably know that AMC's The Walking Dead is television's hottest new show (according to the cover of Entertainment Weekly, at least). It's based on the bestselling graphic novel series of the same name by Robert Kirkman.

I like the show, but I love the graphic novel. It's my third favorite series after Warren Ellis's Transmetropolitan and Neil Gaiman's Sandman (yes, in that order--I love you, Morpheus, but Spider Jerusalem IS. MY. HERO.)

I read The Walking Dead, along with lots of other zombie material*, last year while I was writing Bring on the Night, the third in my WVMP vampire series, which features, among other big events, a giant vampire-zombie battle scene. It was by far the most fun research ever.

So this week, in honor of the season finale of The Walking Dead, I'm giving away five signed copies of Bring on the Night, as well as a grand prize: a signed copy of Bring on the Night plus The Walking Dead compendium, which includes the first eight volumes of the graphic novel.

2. On Sunday, December 5, at 11:59pm, using a random number generator, I will draw one winner from each forum to win the signed copy of Bring on the Night. For the grand prize, I will randomly draw a winner from all entries in all five fora (yep, apparently that's the word).

5. US addresses only. Sorry, but if international folks won all six prizes, it would cost me nearly $200 to run this contest. Santa Jeri's family wouldn't be happy to hear that she blew her Christmas budget by December 5.

Thanks for taking part in the contest. And remember, kids, fast zombies rule!

*The other zombie standout was World War Z by Max Brooks, which is absolutely brilliant science fiction, though it's classified as general fiction (it bugs me when SF is shelved in gen fic just because it's accessible).

Can not want to read this book loved the other two in the seriesalso looking forward to reading your young adult series shade and shift my daughter is also looking forward to reading them. Keep the books a coming they rock. †

Heifer International (HI) is an organization that claims to work against world hunger by donating animals to families in developing countries. Its catalog deceptively portrays beautiful children holding cute animals in seemingly humane circumstances. The marketing brochure for HI does not show the animals being transported, their living and slaughter conditions, or the erosion, pollution and water use caused by the introduction of these animals and their offspring.

By definition, animals raised for food are exploited in a variety of ways. The animals shipped to developing countries are often subject to; water and food shortages, cruel procedures without painkillers, lack of veterinary care resulting in extended suffering as a result of illness or injury.

A large percentage of the families receiving animals from HI are struggling to provide for themselves and cannot ensure adequate living conditions, nutrition, and medical care for animals they have been given. HI provides some initial veterinary training to individuals and the initial vaccines. But, long term care for these animals and their offspring is up to the individuals.

To make matters worse, animal agriculture causes much more harm to the environment than plant-based agriculture. The fragile land in many of the regions HI is sending the animals cannot support animal agriculture. Although they say they encourage cut and carry feeding of the animals to avoid erosion, the reality is often quite different.

The consumption of animal products has been shown in reputable studies to contribute significantly to life-threatening diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and a variety of cancers. Regions that have adopted a diet with more animal products see an increase in these diseases. The remote communities supposedly served by HI have no way of dealing with the health consequences of joining the high-cholesterol world.

While it may seem humane and sustainable to provide just one or two dairy cows here or there, the long term consequences are an increased desire for animal products in local cultures leading to an increase in production. These communities may be able to absorb the additional water use of one or two cows, what happens when there are hundreds or thousands of dairy cows, each consuming 27 to 50 gallons of fresh water and producing tons of excrement? The heavy cost to animals, the environment and local economies is not figured into HI's business practices.